Looking for a quick way to research the companies that make up the S&P 500? Give our in-house database S&P NetAdvantage a try:

Run the Advanced Stock Screener:

Select S&P 500 from the Basic Filter and click on Search:

On the Search Results page, you can view and sort by company name, S&P Sector, STARS Ranking, etc.  Click on the additional tabs to see Performance, Ranking, Growth Rates, and Dividends data.

Trying to find information on a private Massachusetts company?  The Massachusetts Secretary of State Corporation Records is a good place to start.

You can search by entity, identification number, file number, or by individual. In the search example below, I will search on the entitiy “Kraft Group“.

Here is a link to the full record for this entity.  Within this record you will see a reference to filings for that company.

Click on “ALL FILINGS“, then “View Filings” to see additional information about that entity such as their 2012 Annual Report or theirApplication for Registration. 

Corporation Card File Search
Also give the corporation card file search a try.  I’ve found this link helpful when searching for business histories.  Date organized, change of address, merger information are some of the pieces of information that can be found.

Is your company based in another state?  Here are the other State Corporation Databases.

MyPublicNotices is a  way to search legal notices across multiple newspapers.  It can be helpful if you don’t have access to the print version of the newspaper or if you are not sure when or where the notice appeared.  You can search notices nationwide, by state, or by newspaper.  Legal notices are advertisements by governments, businesses or individuals and cover such things as foreclosures, auctions, court proceedings, unclaimed property and other types of community information of interest to the public.

To search this website, click on the link above and enter in your search terms.  In the following search example haved selected newspapers in Massachusetts with the words “MBTA” and “sale”.

This search retrieves a legal notice concerning the Stoughton Commuter Rail Station.

Interested in buying a train depot station?

If buying a train depot is more than you want to take on, consider borrowing Station Agent  from our collection instead.  It’s a moving story about someone who inherits an abandoned train depot.  It’s one of my favorite movies, but fair warning, after watching you may be moved to place a bid on the Stoughton property.

Here are some other recent results from myPublicNotices; casino, Boston College Football, Urban Renewal. Try your own search today!

I just finished Defending Jacob.  If you’re looking for a page turning legal mystery, give this title a try.  William Landay has a breezy writing style despite the book’s rather glum subject matter.

The story is set in Newton and revolves around the life of the Barber family.  The father of the family, Andy Barber, is an assistant district attorney whose teenage son Jacob has been accused of murdering a classmate.

The dialogue between family members in crisis is crisp and absorbing, and  Landay’s overview of court procedure is enlightening.  You may groan a bit over some of the plot twists, but I found the local details added to the realism.  In the end, I had a difficult time putting it down, and I think you will too.